PC occasionally fails to power on.
PC occasionally fails to power on.
So my computer occasionally fails to power on. I think removing parts like the GPU or monitor cable might improve the chances of it starting.
The PC has a 650-watt power supply and doesn’t shut off by itself (even when I turn it off).
The motherboard is an ASUS Prime H310M-E R2.0, with an Intel i5-8500 processor, and a GeForce 1060 GTX GPU.
The unit is brand new, about three months old, and it only occasionally doesn’t turn on. Is the issue definitely due to the new source, or could there be another reason?
Is there a method to determine if the problem lies with the original component?
Definitely FIX IT
. Don't just keep trying your luck. It could be something bad that is only working due to "careful industry awareness and design"
Allot of things can cause that. I would not immediately finger PS replacement. However if you have a spare I'd try the spare only after considering quickly a short list (and this is to avoid labor of replacing it only to find that wasn't the real problem)
* failed power supply (
old
)
*
cards not fully seated
(cheap cases are not ATX by sub millimeter. this means you seat your card correctly and when you tighten the screw it tilts your card slightly. but SOME cards don't like that and slighly is enough to cause no boot - or even runtime problems (strange irq messages))
(some cards makers don't print their pci leads well so that only a slight tilt causes a cross-wire, be lucky if no damage occurs. ususally not. i have a video card that is infamous for this - i can't put in the screw in any ATX case i've owned)
*
cables - cheap
cables can cause (HD, board, other) to intermittenly not get power. but due to new ATX standards that also could cause a total loss of power (auto shutdown of power) until next power on - depending on which cable is intermittent
* powersupply
not supplying enough watts.
an OLD power supply won't supply enough watts. but when you turn on you get (inductance / starting load) and extra watts are needed. this means and old 350W that worked in a machine requiring 250W, put in a PC that does require 350W: may not always boot
*
fan problems
. (some) new supplies will refuse to boot if the fan doesn't spin at the right speed. (moreso on the cpu fan - but perhaps also on the ps fan)
you
might
need a fan that spins at the CORRECT rpm to boot. this means if you pick any generic fan "randomly" it may spin much faster or slower than spec: and the PS will refuse to supply power to the board
*
power cord
. cheap chinese powercord often don't have 18 AWG printed on them (cause they aren't!). but also the female male may not seat well or simply be intermittent. Using the right AWG, if your an avid gamer, will be slighly easier on your powersupply parts - it'll last longer. I suspect you won't have a "warm cable" problem if you don't. But still - use the cable UL suggested. (
either cable or PS can have an issue where wiggling the power cable on back of power supply
causes the power supply to turn off. infact i currently have that exactly on one linux box)
*
power strip
. these also can be intermittent as can be your wall connector. make sure you use power source you have something else plugged into so you can visually see whether or not power is being removed
*
case problem
. if you assembled this: it can be the case you didn't install the
risers
correctly or at all. this can cause motherboard shorting to the case (and sparks) if the risers allow any metal pin to touch the case on back of board. (or maybe your disk HD board is touching the case - as they are unprotected on one side from this. or maybe you have dangling connectors which can make contact with cards or case. or two cards which as so close they can touch each other, and so on)
you must install all risers on some MB and the risers must make electrical connection only on the solder seats
: perhaps the MB isn't getting ground where it needs it or it is doing so intermittently. some boards might even come with "grommets" to provide a riser WITHOUT metal connection. to be brief I'll say ... that's a whole topic. i myself did have a build where i had to "take it all back apart" because a riser nut was too wide for the board and did cause a problem (luckily the board survived)
(arcane - when you need an electrician) Your home's breaker panel should have (inductive / hight noise / washer-dryer) equipment/loads on one bus, and non-noise/inductive (radio/pc/tv) on the other. with homebuilding being rapid yet cheap they don't always follow the rules. If you were on a really noisy bus a good PS might refuse to turn on - say if you had faulty equipment on that same bus that was turned on and running causing allow of noise on the whole bus)
(arcane - when you need an electrician) "loose ground" in some outlet causing V drop everywhere. older screw sockets when removed for (reasons) can cause wires to be loose.
(arcane - smart breaker acting funny) Is your home new an updated? do you have smart breakers? a smart breaker, if overloaded, may shut off power if it gets an immediate inrush of the wrong kind or simply your home circuit/branch is mis-wired or already near it's limit. it also means if the smart part is faulty it will just act unusually. usually you'd have to manually reset it - not always.
I
f it ends up that you have an outlet issue, I cannot stress enough not to follow youtube advice or to do it yourself unless you actually studied fire NFPA / NEC electrical code thoroughly.
There are many "circuit college boys" / arduino hackers who have no idea what the difference between neutral, ground to earth, and ground path to breaker means. Nor 100 important fire matters such as "brittle copper presenting a real risk".
(note you didn't say if you hear the fan running or if the motherboard beeps, so i included a few extra for those non-boot no-video cases)
*
motherboard issues
. the new "ATX" motherboards require the power supply "tell them everything is ok" before taking power (or vice versa). because of this - if either "sense a problem" the motherboard may never be powered on. (in this case however the PS fan should be spinning unless it has 0rpm fanspeed control ability). now for the nitty gritty: atx has a standard and both must agree and follow that standard correctly.
* cache memory or OB sdd card
if these aren't seated the MB will refuse to boot. dmm too.
*
dmm memory module
the cpu has to connect "at speed" with your memory. if you bought the wrong memory for the board you have OR mixed memory brands in the same bank: it can cause the board to intermittenly SEE or NOT SEE the memory, causing intermittent failure to boot.
*
jumpers
. i hate to nit pick or make long list: but i have had a board with intermitten boot issues that came back to a simple JUMPER (small plastic block) which was flakey. put on a new jumper, board was fine.
*
buggy bios.
a thing of the past mostly, i hope.
Estimate if it's suitable for a PC by checking the specs, considering the 650W rating and the ATX ROP label from Dazz Brand.
there is also something I observed, which is that when I press the button to turn on the pc and wait for about 30 or 40 seconds before pressing again, it sometimes powers up. is this a sign of a known issue? maybe related to the motherboard rather than the source? thanks
the need for a distinct question thread arises, including the maximum power usage of each part. a bit extra should be added to the outcome for safety.
again that might not provide enough power.
however i’m sure you’re aware your pc has a sleep button feature?
and depending on its settings, you could face issues with the front button and get confused?
(pwr button questions were very common when atx/sleep motherboards first appeared. today it should be simple to search for this)
It might be the power supply issue, as it appears I have to disconnect and reconnect the cable for it to activate.